Saturday, December 24, 2011

Fans of bullfighting like to justify their passion by claiming it as a graceful art - a delicate dance of man and beast.But at one festival in the tough town of Guamo, Columbia, untrained men, pumped up on drink and drugs, step into the ring with predictably catastrophic results.Looking for a thrill and a few quick pesos, the amateur matadors take on the bulls at a yearly celebration in honour of a local patron saint.

Ay Caramba: A drunken man flees in terror at an annual bullfighting even in the small town of Guamo, Columbia

The men are mostly fuelled by liquor and the beats of local folk music, and while they put on a show, they also put themselves at risk.

On Wednesday six people were injured during the fights in the small town some 250 miles north of Bogota.

Local man Josevides Arias said: 'This is a tradition here but I don't agree with it, because they are placing their lives at risk.

Crazy: A man balances on a platform as he tries to evade a charging bull

Grounded: Flipped onto the grass the drunken man is at the mercy of the rampaging bull

Gorged: The helpless man flails wildly as the bull slams into him

'They go in there under the influence of alcohol, drugs and place their lives at risk.'

Another observer, Jose Luis Moron, agreed: 'Those who are not matadors or professionals, well, they risk their lives for no reason.

Desperate: A man dives head first through a wooden grate to escape another angry bull'I do not like the people who go in there irresponsibly, risking their lives.'

According to the website for the anti-bullfighting organization CAS International, Colombia has the second-biggest bullfighting industry in Latin America, with some 86 rings.